LINDEN — A woman was arrested for allegedly bilking her landlord over $9,000 in rent, authorities said.

Frances Kangas, 49, was arrested Thursday and charged with theft by deception, issuing bad checks and forgery, said Lt. James Sarnicki of the Linden police.

Kangas is accused of moving into a two-family house on the 1200 block of Roselle Street in June 2012, with the understanding that she would pay rent on a monthly basis, Sarnicki said.

Soon afterward, Kangas allegedly moved members of her family into the other vacant floor of the house. She began to issue the landlord a series of checks for rent payments and security for both apartments, police said. The checks were never honored by the bank – and when the landlord confronted Kangas, the tenant allegedly stalled her, telling her a replacement check would be issued, Sarnicki said.

By November, more than $9,000 in rent was owed, police allege.

The landlord went to civil court to begin eviction proceedings – but because some of the checks were written on closed bank accounts, it became a criminal investigation, Sarnicki said.

Police detectives found that Kangas had listed several addresses in Union County, all of which were apartments, he added.

The Roselle Street address was vacant when detectives tried to locate Kangas in November – but a three-month investigation resulted in the arrest of Kangas at her Rahway workplace Thursday, Sarnicki said.

She is being held on $60,000 cash bail at the Linden municipal jail.

Anyone who may have been victimized by Kangas is urged to contact Det. Kevin Mikolajczyk at (908) 474-8530.